Insurance company, Vitality, has published a report into the exercise habits of British women, and explores the critical barriers preventing many from meeting physical activity guidelines.

Active Women, Healthy Lives: Understanding Barriers to Women's Participation in Physical Activity, is based on input from 6,000 women from across the UK, who were questioned by FGS Global in June 2024. Additionally, focus groups were held with physical activity professionals including The Well HQ, Women in Sport, parkrun, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Gabby Logan, This Woman Runs and England Netball. Twenty six in-depth stakeholder interviews were conducted with academics, politicians, policymakers, athletes and influencers.

The findings suggest there is a long way to go in order to get all women to reach the WHO guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate intensity each week. The report found that only 23 per cent of women engage in 30 minutes of exercise a week, or achieve 7,000 steps a day five or more times a week.

Eighty per cent of women cite time constraints as a barrier to exercise, whereas only 35 per cent of men give this as a reason for not exercising. Furthermore, 36 per cent of women say they feel guilty taking time for themselves. While work, caregiving responsibilities and household chores are seen as non-negotiable, exercise is seen as "a nice to have."

The three main barriers to participation are a lack of motivation (82 per cent); a lack of enjoyment (65 per cent) and a fear of judgment about either physical ability or body image (62 per cent.)

The issues

Participation drops off when hormones kick in as teenagers. One million teenage girls who once considered themselves sporty disengage with physical activity following primary school. Reasons given were feeling judged, lack of confidence, pressures of schoolwork and not feeling safe outside.

Busy working lives are cited as a problem among many young women starting out in their careers.

Seventy four per cent said that motherhood changed their relationship with exercise: 40 per cent said that having a baby stopped them being active, rising to 53 per cent for those with children up to the age of four.

Favourite exercises

Walking is the most popular form of exercise, with 64 per cent of women saying this is their movement of choice. The report states that while walking has significant health benefits, it is foundational rather than the end goal.

Gym-based classes are the second most popular form of exercise, although much lower, at 27 per cent.

Jogging and running is also popular among younger women, with 20.5 per cent of 20 to 39-year-olds using it as a way of keeping active.

The recommendations

Vitality emphasises this is not solely the responsibility of women to fix and worked with The Well HQ and Women in Sport to produce a number of recommendations for employers, government, society as a whole – for example men stepping up with the caregiving and household chores – and also for the fitness industry.

With so many women reporting a fear of judgement as a barrier to exercise, stakeholders suggest the need for more inclusive, women-only spaces, particularly for younger women who are most susceptible to these pressures.

The demand for personalisation was strong: 65 per cent of women said free fitness plans, or personalised workout programmes, would encourage them to exercise more.

Better information is also needed. Many women turn to the overloaded NHS for advice; social media is another source, but is not regulated and often inaccurate, so the most popular source of advice currently is from friends and family. The fitness industry could step into this gap.

Source: Health Club Management

Image: shutterstock/Oksana Kuzmina